At this juncture, the government “feels that it is on a high moral ground for sacking the minister of state for external affairs, Mr Shashi Tharoor, following allegations of involvement in the so-called IPLGate”. It was claimed that the government was not willing to “give up this advantage”.
More importantly, in the event of a JPC probe, the reports of the “surveys” being conducted by the investigating agencies, including the income-tax department, would have to be submitted to the committee. This would mean that the government “will not have sole access to this vital information”. The sources maintained that the government “is not exactly keen to share such information at the moment” and that the government “can instead leverage the information” to sort out its political equation with the NCP.
Moreover, in the event of a JPC probe, the Opposition could also mount pressure on the government to drop the NCP leaders —Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and Union civil aviation minister Praful Patel — due to allegations of their involvement in irregularities in the control and management of the T-20 cricket tournament. This would not be acceptable to the government, which need the NCP’s support in the Lok Sabha.
Meanwhile, on the saffron front, there seems to be a reluctance among a section of BJP leaders to go in for a JPC probe. It was pointed out that heavyweight saffron leader Arun Jaitley, a member of the IPL governing council and of the BCCI, would also come under the purview of the JPC. Some leaders in the BJP tried to maintain that the party should mount pressure on the government to drop Mr Pawar and Mr Patel instead of seeking a JPC probe.
Moreover, the BJP is also concerned about party general secretary Vasundhara Raje’s alleged links to IPL commissioner Lalit Modi. Allegations of Ms Raje backing Mr Modi for several “illegal land deals” during her tenure in Rajasthan are flying thick and fast. Trying to put up a brave front, BJP national executive member Siddharth Nath Singh said the “Congress and the government are caught on the backfoot on the IPL issue. They are looking for excuses to divert attention by politicising the Raje issue”.
However, on Saturday, a criminal complaint was filed against Mr Lalit Modi and nine others seeking a police investigation into alleged illegal purchase of two heritage havelis in the protected Amer zone in Jaipur in 2007. Saffron spin doctors are now working out a strategy to extricate the party from this Rajasthan mess. BJP chief Nitin Gadkari reportedly held parleys with Ms Raje over the issue.
Sanjay Basak